Helping Me (Cop LevixCop ReaderOC)
by Zucchini999
Summary: Ellie Smith (you) is a Lieutenant Colonel at a police station. In her current case, girls have gone missing and shown up at a later date, dead. One day, Erwin, her dad, comes in with her new partner, Levi. They work together to crack the case, but something goes wrong. Will they be able to solve the case, or will Ellie meet the same fate as the other girls? Read to find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Lieutenant Colonel Ellie! The body of Fleur Rains has been found!" someone yelled.

I got up from my chair in my office and rushed to the caller. "Where was she found?"

"In an alley close to the intersection of Baker Street and Grandeur Road. She was left in the open, where she could easily be spotted. She is in the same state as other victims."

I sighed, this was the seventh girl that had gone missing and shown up dead. I heard the phone next to me ring and picked it up.

"Hello, this is Lieutenant Colonel Smith speaking. What's your problem?" I spoke. I always answered the phone like that. Just a habit I picked up over my life. It came in handy though, everyone respected me on the other end.

"Hi, I would like to report a missing person."

I fumbled for a pen and a piece of paper on the desk that I was currently standing in front of and got ready to write. "Who's missing?"

"My friend. She disappeared two nights ago. We were drinking and she walked home because she doesn't live too far from me. Anyway, she promised to give me a text when she got home but she still hasn't texted yet and she isn't answering her phone!"

"What's her name?"

"Daisy Madison. She has blonde hair that goes to the small of her back, she's tall, about 5''7. She's skinny and has pale skin," she answered.

"Can you remember what clothes she was wearing when she left your house?" I asked.

"She was wearing a dark purple strapless dress that went mid-thigh and black round-toe platforms. She had a black cardigan. She had her hair in a milkmaid braid. She had a cream coloured purse."

I nodded to myself. We could get the public to look for Daisy, but I had a suspicion that she was the next victim of the serial killer. "Thankyou. We'll let you know if we find her. Please tell your friends and family to keep on the look-out for her." I hung up. There was an extremely high chance that she was not going to be found alive.

I walked back to my office, handing my notes to Riley Fiel, the officer that had called me over. I grabbed my cap, camera and gathered some evidence bags. I guestured for Jocelyne Holst and her partner, Vico Bellamy, to go to the crime scene with me. They quickly grabbed their caps and cameras. I waited for them at the elevator before explaining that Fleur Rains had been found. We went to the crime scene in different cars. I got their first and I had to put up the tape and dispel the crowds. By the time Jocelyne and Vico had got there, the crowd had mostly disappeared. We worked quickly, and Hanji pulled up right on time. I helped her put Fleur's body into a body bag. Jocelyne and Vico collected anything that might be connected and took a few more pictures. I drove my car back to the station and gave my camera to Tobin Daubney. I stopped at my office to see a stack of new paperwork to fill out. I quickly flicked through it until I heard a knock on my office door. I looked up and saw Commissioner Erwin Smith, my dad. I walked to the door and let him in. He went inside and a smaller man, a newbie, followed him inside.

"Ellie, this is Levi Ackerman. He just graduated and is top of his class," Erwin introduced.

I looked Levi up and down, sizing him up. He was short, about 5''3, and had a muscular build.

"He's my new partner, isn't he?" I asked, my gaze shifting to my dad.

"Yes, he is, so be nice." Erwin walked out of the room, leaving me no room to argue.

"So, Ellie, is it? All of the instructors that I had talked about you. I see that you fit their descriptions," Levi said.

I looked him straight in the eye. He had the nerve to call me by my name. No one did that. "Listen, I'd prefer it if you called me Lieutenant Colonel Ellie. Now follow me." I walked out of the room.

Everyone in Riley's bullpen looked at us, and I just glared at them. They quickly looked away. I stopped at a door, two doors down from my office. I opened the door and gestured for Levi to step in. "This is your office. It better be kept clean."

Levi scoffed. I turned to look at him, my eyes narrowed slightly. He still had a grumpy expression on his face. I turned back around, I hadn't even known him for two minutes and I was already sick of him. I walked to a door at the back of the office. I opened it and revealed the private bathroom to Levi. He stepped in and had a look. He stopped when he caught sight of a washing machine and dryer.

"You don't have to use those. I only use them because I get sent on undercover missions and other gorey missions. I don't expect you to use them. And yes, that door on the other side does lead to my office. Under no circumstances are you to enter my office using that door, unless you can't get out of your office due to a fire. Am I clear?" I explain.

"Extremely clear."

I nodded and walked out of Levi's office. I went straight to the elevator and I only had to wait for about a minute for it. Levi stepped in after me and I pressed the button for Hanji's lab. I stepped out of the elevator first and led the way to the autopsy room. Hanji had already started and I started to help her. I knew what I was doing, I had studied the science side of police work in my spare time with Hanji. Erwin knew that I often helped Hanji but he didn't care, as long as we got the job done.

"Same markings as the other victims, just in different areas," Hanji stated and I nodded my head.

It was sickening knowing that people would do this to other people. I opened Fleur's mouth and sniffed it. It didn't smell unusual.

"It's all the same. Whoever is doing this knows what they're doing," I agreed.

"Well, Ellie. I'll tell you if I find anything different." Then she said in an undertone, "I know you want to find your mum's killer, but please, focus on this case."

I looked at her in shock. Erwin didn't know about that and he was my dad. I don't understand how she found out. I walked out of the office, ignoring Levi's look of slight confusion. I take the elevator back to the main floor and stop outside of Riley's bullpen.

"Have you printed the pictures yet?" I asked.

Riley nodded and handed me all of the pictures that Jocelyne, Vico and I had taken. I thanked him and set them down on a spare bench in my office. I started putting the pictures up and writing small comments about them. I grabbed a bunch of thumb tacks from a draw and set them down next to the pictures before opening a different draw and grabbed some different coloured string. Levi was staring at me and I knew that it was because I hadn't told him what I was doing. I started pinning the pictures up and using green string, began connecting different pictures of small things to where they fit with the picture of Fleur's corpse. I turned to Levi.

"See anything peculiar?"

Levi started at the board for a few moments, studying each picture and small note that I had just pinned up. "Nothing in particular, but it seems that she wasn't killed there. Her body was dumped."

"That's right. Every girl that has gone missing for the past few months all had similar cases. They disappeared, showed up a few days or weeks later dead. But they all were dumped, none were killed in the spots that they were found. Every girl has the same markings on her body but in different places, which was what Hanji and I were talking about before."

"How many girls have been killed so far?"

"Seven in total, but another was reported missing just before I checked this out. It isn't a coincidence either. Nothing about this is a coincidence."

Levi stared at me. I shrugged. I had been living around Erwin for my entire life and I had been a cop for five years. Everything happened for a reason and none of it was coincidental. I noticed Levi staring at the board again. I waited or him to ask a question.

"Look at her neck. That's too weirdly shaped to be a bruise, isn't it?"

I looked to where he was pointing. It wasn't a bruise, Hanji and I knew that for certain but I didn't expect Levi to ask that. "I know. Hanji and I figured that it wasn't a bruise when the second girl showed up dead. It was about a week and a half after the first girl was dumped. We compared the bodies and those marks around the neck vanished. We don't know why." I explained.

Levi kept staring at the picture showing the entirety of the crime scene. I studied him closely, he seemed alert and I knew that his mind was working overtime trying to find a clue or something that seemed out of place but he couldn't. I heard commotion outside and saw that some people were leaving. I looked at the wall clock above the door. 6'o'clock.

"You can go if you want. You have nothing else to do here, unless you want to sit and look at the board all night," I said.

Levi looked at me, and then at the clock, before walking towards the door. He stopped when his hand touched the doorknob and looked back at me. "Bye."

"See you later." I saw Levi's confusion but he quickly recovered. Once he was out of sight, I smirked. He had no idea of what I was going to do that night. I remember when Mike did it to me when I had just graduated. I logged on to my computer and pulled up the database. I typed in Levi Ackerman and saw his address. He was going to kill me but it was going to be worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

To pass the time, I started filling in the paper work that I found on my desk earlier. I looked at the clock every so often and when it read 11'o'clock, I packed up. I grabbed the scrap piece of paper that I had written Levi's address on and I walked out of the station, closing everything as I went. I got to my car and drove to Levi's house. Once I neared it, I pulled over and parked the car. I navigated the dark street to Levi's house and I saw that there was not a single light on in the house. I smirked. Levi may have graduated, but his training wasn't over.

I crept my way over and carefully avoided anything that could make noise. I found a window on the side of the house and carefully opened it, using skills that I had found useful when I went undercover posing as a thief, I climbed in, making a bit of noise, hopefully alerting Levi. Nothing happened so I started walking towards the door. I leaned against it and waited for a few moments. Hearing nothing, I slowly opened it. I checked either way before stepping out into the hallway. I purposely found some creaks and put my weight on them, making them louder. Still no response from Levi. I crept to the right, towards the front of the house. Once I got to the doorway, I carefully checked wither direction before looking behind me. Levi was still nowhere to be seen. I stepped into the kitchen and found an apple sitting on the benchtop. Lightbulbs went off inside my head. I knocked the apple off the counter. The sound of the apple hitting the floor echoed through the empty house and I quickly made my way to the darkest corner. Sure enough, Levi came into the kitchen. He didn't spot me but he noticed the apple on the floor. As he knelt to pick it up, I crept up behind him. Using my left hand, I covered his mouth as my right hand pinned his arms by his side. I heard his sudden intake of breath. I laughed to myself.

"Relax, it's just me," I said as I let him go.

"Ellie? What are you doing here?" he asked. He didn't sound scared, nor did he sound confused.

"Testing you. I've been here for about five minutes before you even figured out I was here."

"You've been here for five minutes? How did you get in?"

"Through the side window. I've been making noise to make my presence known to you but you weren't paying attention-"

"Of course I wasn't paying attention! I was trying to sleep like a normal human being. I didn't know you were here until I heard a thud."

"I know. I don't know what they teach cadets these days, but recognising different patterns at night surely isn't taught anymore."

"Did they teach you that?" Levi asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Yeah, and my first partner did this with me too. I caught him though. I would've thought my comment when you left would have tipped you off. I said 'see you later.' I didn't say 'see you tomorrow.' I guess I've got a long way to go with you."

"Why?"

"Because, I learnt from an extremely good officer. He taught me to wake up if I sensed anything was wrong or different. He also taught me a range of codes to use when in trouble. And yes, I'll be teaching them to you," I explained. "I'll be leaving now. Good night."

Levi locked the door once I stepped outside. I walked quickly back to my car in the cold night air. I drove home, where I knew Erwin would be waiting for me. I parked the car on the road in front because Erwin's car was on the driveway. I unlocked the door and the first thing I saw was Erwin leaning against the door frame.

"Hey, Dad."

"You went to pay Levi a visit, didn't you? Please tell me that you didn't scare him," Erwin guessed.

"Yeah, I was there. I'm not sure if I scared him or not. It took him five minutes to realise that I was there and that was because I snuck up on him while he was picking an apple up. He didn't realise that I was in the kitchen with him. My god, if it wasn't serious I would have laughed until I couldn't breathe."

"You snuck up on him. Did you yell 'boo'?"

"No, I put a hand over his mouth and the other pinned his arms to his sides. Besides yelling 'boo' is childish," I said.

Erwin nodded and stood up. I walked to the bathroom to have a shower. I went to bed after that and I fell asleep rather quickly.

 _"Mum? What do you mean that Mum has been found?" I asked._

 _"She's been found... It might be better if you come with me," Erwin, my dad, said with sadness laced in his voice._

 _I got up, grabbing my cap off it's hook on the wall near the door. I followed Erwin towards the elevator, motioning for my current partner to stay at the station. I got into the passenger seat of Erwin's car as he drove to where Mum had been found. I was confused because Mum hadn't gone missing, so how could she have been found? Unless Erwin wasn't telling me anything. I kept my mouth shut, knowing that I would get answers soon enough. Erwin parked the car a few streets away from the bar that Mum owned. I got out of the car and followed him to an alleyway. My eyes widened with shock when I saw Mum. I realised why Erwin sounded sad when he told me that she had been found. She was dead. Her limbs were laying in odd positions and blood was in multiple places on her clothes. I walked forward, as if in a trance. I got a closer look at the corpse of my mother. Her blue eyes, that once held a child-like spark, were now staring blankly into space. Her expression was one of shock. The locket that she usually wore to work was missing, along with the picture of me that she kept inside. The picture of Erwin that was in it was in Mum's tightly clenched hand. I desperately wanted to grabbed it, and I would've if I hadn't come to my senses. Erwin put his right arm over my shoulders and held me close. I felt tears start to form but I didn't wipe them away. I let them fall down. I wouldn't've been able to stop them anyway. My mother, the woman whom I loved most, the woman that raised me, was dead, and there was nothing I could do about it._ _I turned into Erwin's chest and I hugged him. It was just us now. Just Erwin and me._

I woke with a start. I slowed my breathing and calmed myself. I looked at the digital clock on my beside table. It was 5:30. I got up and made my way to the kitchen. I started cooking pancakes. I served them up on two plates. I looked in the pantry for maple syrup and grabbed it. I drowned my pancakes in it before making my way to the table. I ate my pancakes slowly, not really interested in them. I kept thinking about my nightmare. It had been two years since Mum had died and her murder was still unsolved.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Hey," Erwin greeted, snapping me out of my reverie.

"Hi."

Erwin grabbed his plate and the maple syrup and sat across from me. We ate in silence, which was normal for us being this early in the morning. Once I finished, I put my plate in the sink and went back to my room. I got dresssed in my uniform. I didn't wait for Erwin to finish getting ready; I just got in my car and drove to the station. It was about 6:20 when I got there. I headed straight to my office, nodding a greeting to other officers. I sat down and started on the paperwork again. I never finished last night and since Fleur was found and Daisy disappeared. I looked up when Levi knocked on my. My eyes flicked up towards the clock. 7'o'clock. Right on time. I beckoned him in, not bothering to get up.

"So, what are we doing today?" he asked.

"Well, I was thinking about teaching you codes. Tell me, did you get any sleep last night?" I replied.

"I did get sleep but not a lot, thanks to you. So what kind of codes do you know?" Levi said.

"The first code was made by my first partner. So this particular code can be written or sent with a lantern. The letters Z and W aren't included but S and V can take their place if necessary. The letters get put into a grid which looks like this," I explain, starting to draw up the grid.

 _1\. A. B. C. D. E. F._

 _2\. G. H. I. J. K. L._

 _3\. M. N. O. P. Q. R._

 _4\. S. T. U. V. X. Y._

"When you're writing with this, the letter A would be 1.1 whereas the letter P would be 3.4. I'll show you how to send messages using a lantern at night, it's easier that way," I finished explaining.

I started writing a message using the code. When I finished writing it, it read as _4.2 2.2 2.3 4.1 2.3 4.1 4.2 2.2 1.5 3.1 1.5 4.1 4.1 1.5 3.2 2.1 1.5 3.6 1.3 3.3 1.4 1.5._

I handed it to Levi. "Decode it." I returned to my paperwork and no less than five minutes later, Levi handed me back the sheet with the correct message. 'This is the messenger code.' I smiled. "You decoded it quickly. My last partner took ten minutes on her first try."

"Once I had decoded a few letters, I decoded the rest of the same at the same time. By doing that, I finished quickly."

"My last partner decoded every letter in order. One at a time, too, siily girl."

"How many partners have you had?" Levi asked.

"You're my third. My first was Mike, he had too retire because of an injury. My other partner was my inferior. Her name was Petra."

"Where is she now?"

"She died while we and some other officers were storming a building. A girl got kidnapped and we found out where she was being held. Petra and I found her first and Petra rushed to her. It was an obvious trap but I don't think that she cared. She got shot through the stomach while she was untying her. I snuck around the girl's captor and arrested him. I freed the girl but Petra died. That was about a year ago."

I looked at Levi. He had the same grumpy expression on his face. Does he ever smile?

"Why haven't you had any partners since?"

"Well, cadets only graduate at the end of the year, and all the cadets that transeferred here from other stations all went to other senior officers. I don't care if I have a partner or not, but then again, I haven't ever cared about that."

Levi nodded. I could tell that he was done asking questions for now. I wrote some more codes for him to decode but this time, they were full messages. I also used his address to throw him off. He finished in about half an hour. He handed them back to me and I flicked through them. Once again, he had gotten them all correct. I looked at the sheet with his address, I could see where he had scribbled out mistakes. I held it up for him to see. "Did this one stump you?"

"Yes."

"I thought it would. Sometimes, it's easier to leave what you're unsure of until last but with this," I said, pointing to the number part of his address, "doesn't have a dot. That should have stood out to you. Any numbers that don't have a dot are usually part of an address."

Levi was silent for a moment and I assumed that he didn't have anymore questions. I returned to the paper work and Daisy's name stood out. Frowning, I turned to my computer and searched her up in the database. It showed me information about her friends, family and her non-existant police record. I clicked on her dad's name. He died seven years ago. I clicked on his wife's name. She was still alive and I found her address. I stood up and Levi followed me. I grabbed my cap from its hook and a pad and a pen from the draw below it. I walked out of my office and towards the elevator with Levi by my side. He didn't ask questions, which I was grateful for. I walked to my car and gestured for Levi to get in. I drove to Daisy's mum's house and parked in her driveway. I got out and walked to the front door, Levi following close behind. I knocked three times and stepped back, waiting for Daisy's mum to open the door. When it opened, a woman with black hair streaked with grey appeared, her eyes growing wide when she saw us.

"Hello. May we come in?" I asked.

She stepped aside, allowing us through. She led us to her lounge room, where we sat once she told us we could.

"Mrs Madison, we recieved a call yesterday afternoon from one of Daisy's friends. Apparently, she has been missing for a couple of days. Have you had any contact with her?" I asked.

"No. It's not the first time she has done something like this. She hates the world, you see. She often goes off the radar but I... felt something different this time round, though," Mrs Madison admitted.

"Do you have any recent photos of her?" Levi asked.

"Yes but they aren't nice ones of her, though," she answered, getting up and walking into the next room over.

She returned a few seconds later, holding a photo album. She handed it to us and the first one in it was repulsive. She wasn't wearing any clothes but there was a guy standing in front of her, kissing her neck. Most were like that. I realised why her mother wasn't displaying them. I flicked to the next slot over and did a double take. Daisy was a few years younger, standing in front of my mum in the she owned. I held the picture up for our host to see.

"Did she work with the woman in the background?"

"She worked for her. That woman died about two years ago. Daisy was sad when she died. She said that she was killed by a drug ring. All the girls that worked for her knew about it shortly after it happened."

My breath hitched. I knew my mother was killed by a crime ring by some sort, I just didn't know what type of ring. This information was new and I knew that I had another lead on my mother's unsolved case. "Could you tell me anything more about the woman?"

"She had a daughter. None of the girls saw her, though. Said her name was Ellie, I believe. According to her mother, she was the best person to be around, kind and smart. Protective was another word used. I would love to meet her though. Tell her about her mum and what happened. Or the husband. Anything to give them closure."

"Well, the woman's husband is our Commissioner. We can tell him to drop by later. Back to the matters at hand, do you know the names of the girls that worked with Daisy for this woman?" Levi answered.

"I can't remember most of their names but I remember one: Fleur Rains. She and Daisy were best friends."

I looked back at the picture, at my mum. She looked like me, but only slightly. I continued to flick through the photos but none seemed important, until I saw the last one in the album. It was a picture of Daisy and Fleur, and some other girls, including the other six that had been killed.

"Is it okay if I get a copy of this?" I asked, holding the picture up.

"Yeah. Those girls all worked at the bar. Just give me a moment, please."

I handed the photo to her and she walked in the same room as before. It was obvious by now that it was some sort of office. I noticed Levi staring at me.

"That was your mother wasn't it?"

I looked down. "Yeah, I've been trying to solve her case ever since she died. This is the best lead yet - and it might tie in with this case."

Mrs Madison came back in and gave us an enlarged copy.

"Thankyou. We'll let you know if we find her," I said, standing up.

She smiled and led the way to the front door, where she stood until we disappeared from her sight.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

We arrived back at the station in time for lunch break. I took my food to my office, opting to leave Levi with the other officers. I pinned the copied photo up onto the board contained facts and evidence of Fleur's case. I grabbed a red marker and crossed off the girls who had died. I walked to a small filing cabenet behind my desk and opened the middle draw. I grabbed my mum's case and looked through it.

 _Brooklynn Smith_

 _Born: 9th March, 1971_

 _Died: 17th June, 2015_

 _Cause of Death: Murder_

Photos spilled out and looked at all of them. My mother looked like a ghost in all of them because she was so white. I hastily hid the file when my door was opened. Seeing that it was just Levi, I pulled the folder back out. Levi stood to my side and peered over my shoulder, studying the pictures.

"That's your mum?" he asked.

"Yeah. This is her case. Hanji knows about it, I don't think Erwin does though. I haven't given up yet but I need to."

Levi's bored expression remained but it didn't bother me. I put the folder back after adding a small note about how Mrs Madison said that she was killed by a drug ring. I grabbed my food and started eating it slowly, thinking about who the next victim could possibly be.

I looked at my door as Erwin was about to knock. I motioned for him to come in and he did.

"Ellie, did you find anything out from Daisy's family?"

"We only saw her mum, but yeah, we did. All of the girls that have been killed used to work for Mum."

Erwin did a double-take at that. "They worked for her?"

I stood up and showed Erwin the picture that we acquired from Mrs Madison. "These are all the girls that worked for Mum." I whispered the next sentence. "They knew that Mum was killed by a drug ring."

Erwin took a side-long glance at me. I could tell what he was thinking, and I knew I would be hearing about it later. No doubt about that.

"Anything else?"

"All of the girls are good friends, especially Daisy and Fleur. Daisy hates the world and often goes off the radar. That's why her mum didn't contact us sooner."

Erwin continued to look at the picture. "Do you think that Mrs Madison would talk about Brooklynn?"

"Definitely. She had a picture of Mum and Daisy. Apparently, Mum talked about to the girls. Mrs Madison would like to meet you or me but I didn't tell her who I am."

Erwin finally turned to look at me. His eyes were saddened but, then again, mine probably were as well. "Take a break. You need it, you've been overworking again." With that, Erwin walked out, leaving me and Levi in the room.

I turned to Levi, who was standing awkwardly at my desk. "Well," I said, "we've got some free time."

"Are you going home or staying?" Levi asked.

"Neither. I want to see how well you storm a house. I'm also going to teach you some more codes and give you a few riddles to solve."

Levi looked the same, but I could tell that he wasn't looking forward to this. I walked out of my office, Levi following me. I drove to an abanded house that our station bought to pratice in, with Levi sitting in silence. I parked a bit off, using standard procedures. I got out of the car and closed the door. I motioned for him to take the lead. I was assessing him and wanted to see how well he would do. He drew his gun and kept the nozzle pointing down. He crept slowly towards the house, after getting directions from me, using trees and bushes as cover. I, however, just walked straight towards the house, keeping Levi in my sight. He zig-zagged but that was expected. When the house was in sight, I noticed that Levi swore under his breath and I knew why. The house was in the middle of a clearing and if he walked towards he house, he would be seen clearly. I stopped and turned to Levi.

"What are you going to do?"

Levi glared at me and I smirked. He turned his attention back to the house, clearly thinking about the path he would take. He noticed that there was only a single window on the side of the house that he was facing. He crept towards me, obviously moving out of the window's line of sight. He started his advance again and I moved forward as well. Levi stopped once again at the edge of the trees. I could see that he was fuming. He crouched down and looked at me for help. I looked at the house, planning my path towards it if I was in Levi's place, and if this were real, and it involved having movement off towards the right, where all the attention would be away from me as the people inside would be too preoccupied with trying to find the source of the movement. I would then run towards a blind spot at the walls of the house and crawl around until I found the door. I would then kick open the door and storm inside with the help of other officers. I look back and Levi and tilt my head at him.

"You can suggest situations. If this was real, you would have other officers with you. What you want them to do?" I said.

Levi's glare faded as his mind started thinking of new possibilities. Levi looked to his right, at the tree line. His mind was turning gears, I could see it.

"Would it be possible for me to get them to form some sort of distraction?"

"Of course. If they were here, what sort of distraction would you want them to provide?" I asked.

"Depends on what we're doing at the time-" he started.

"For this, you want to catch them in the act. That involves getting inside and catching them by surprise. So what would you want the other officers to do?" I interrupted.

"I would get them to move branches, giving them the appearance of something running through. If they notice, they'll be looking away from me, giving me time to run forwards."

"Let's assume that they provided such distraction."

Levi ran towards the house, and crouched down. He crawled to his left, away from the window. I followed him around the house. He stood up when he got to the door.

"Would other officers have followed me?" he asked.

"Yes. There are practically no other blind spots in this house. Let's say that you have a few other officers here right now. What would you do now?" I replied.

Levi looked at the door. He tested it, seeing if it was unlocked, which it was.

"Is it meant to be unlocked?"

"For this particular exercise, it is meant to be but Erwin got too sick to replacing this door. So we're going to pretend that you have kicked it opened and have alerted everyone inside."

Levi walked through the doorway, gun up and using cover wherever he could. He checked doors if he could, heading towards the main room, explaining what he would want the other officers to do if they were here. He got to the main room and pretended to arrest criminals.

"Hooray, the suspects have been arrested and are in our custody," I said.

He looked at me, his eyes screaming _REALLY_?

"Is this it?" he asked.

"Yep." I walked towards the table, unfolding a piece of paper as I sat down.

I gestured for Levi to do the same. I gave him a six-by-six table. The numbers 1 one to five across the top, one space from the left. Down the left side had the words, _Colour, Nationality, Smoke, Drink, Pet_. I handed Levi the piece of paper I had unfolded and a pen.

"You want me to solve Einstein's Riddle?" his disbelief was evident.

"Let me put it to you this way: a thief stole a fish and the police chased him to a street. Once they got there, they didn't see which house the thief ran into. If they break into the wrong house, the thief will notice and will have time to get away. The police discover clues and need to figure out which house the thief is hiding in. You need to fill in the entire table. Have as much time as you need."

I had a list of the answers. I watched as Levi worked, making sure that he didn't look at my answers. A few minutes later, Levi was done. He gave me his answers and I checked them. He had got them right but I did expect that.

"Did that kill you?" I asked.

Levi stared at me and I got a few more pieces of paper as well as a few black textas.

"What are they for?" he asked.

"I said I was going to teach you a few more codes, did I not?"

"I meant the textas."

"Ways of messaging so people think everythings ok," I said.

Levi rolled his eyes and I had enough of Levi being disrespectful. He wouldn't stop asking me questions about why we had to learn codes.

"If you think you've learnt everything go ahead and walk through that door! If you think what I'm doing with you isn't helpful, go! I learnt this while I was on probation. I never questioned it. I taught my last partner this while she was on probation and she never questioned it. Why do you have a problem with it then?"

Levi looked taken aback. He rose from his chair but sat back down after hesitating. I waited for Levi to do anything, say anything, but he kept quiet and avoided my hard gaze.

"What I'm teaching you saves lives. What I'm about to teach you saved my last partner a few times. This involves using two different textas, a normal one and a permanent marker. To leave a message, you write a misleading message in a normal texta. Then, you go over certain letters in permanent that way, whoever the desired recipients receives your letter, they they can get the real message, however short it may be."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

I wrote a false message then went over a few letters to show Levi how it worked and set Levi to write me a message using the same tricks. He was done quickly and his secret message almost made me kill him, literally and figuratively. I taught him morse code and how it could be used in multiple ways. If he wasn't allowed to speak, he could do it with his eyes, as most soldiers do when they need help, how to write it and how to send it through smoke signals. I also taught Levi the Monoalphabetic Substitution. He picked that up easily, as was expected. It was about 7:50 when I checked the time on my phone and I packed up. I walked out of the house with Levi a few steps behind.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" I asked.

Levi looked at me. "How do you know that I didn't drive to the station today?"

"Are you forgetting about last night? There was no car in front of your house or in your non-existant car shed. That means you walk to work. So, would you like me to drive you home?" I asked.

"I guess so."

I drove him home, stopping at a fast food restaurant first because I was hungry. I offered to buy Levi some as well but he didn't want any. I drove him home after that. I pulled up in front of his house and waited until he was inside. Then I drove back to the station. I had paperwork that I had to do, and if I didn't go home, I would text Erwin where I was. I had finished my tea by the time I got to the station. I disposed of my rubbish in a bin as I walked towards the elevator. I walked straight to my office and logged onto my computer. I searched our database for Mum's bar and found the list of workers. I wrote down all the names of the female workers. There were seventeen of them. I looked up at the photo Mrs Madison gave me. I counted all the girls. 17. I clicked the names of the girls, bringing up their profile. None of them had any past incidents with the law. The only connection was the fact that they all worked at Mum's bar. It annoyed me to no end. Feeling frustrated, I made my way to Hanji's lab. She wasn't there, which was expected.

I walked through to the morgue and found the body of Ainslee Vogels, the first victim. Most of her wounds have faded so nothing was different. I pulled out the tray upon which the second victim, Elyse Rey, laid. Her wounds had mostly faded as well. I continued this pattern, discovering that my patience was wearing thin when I punched a wall in anger. When I got to Fleur's body, I had an idea, but I needed to check with every girl's parents and lovers. I put all the bodies back in and ran to the elevator. For once, I felt as if a had a solid lead on this case. And it was about time too. The tabs of the girls that I had opened up earlier were still open so I closed the tabs of the girls that were still alive, and I focused that the dead girls and the one that was currently missing. I got the addresses of their parents and previous lovers. Some of which, had girlfriends too. I made a list and I didn't realise how late it was. I soon fell asleep from exhaustion. As I drifted off, I realised that I forgot to tell Erwin where I had been. _Oh, well._

 **Levi's POV**

I walked to work again. I had been shopping for food a day before I met Ellie and I returned to my car to find the back smashed. The idiot who had wrecked my car was taking pictures of it and then putting them on his snapchat story. I had stood behind him for a few minutes before he realised that I was there. I saw one caption which made me want to hit the man. "Oops, I hit another person's car. I'm so sorry. NOT! I'll be gone by the time the owner is back though, so no biggie." I had scared him when he went to take a selfie and send it to a 'concerned' friend. He saw me and freaked out. When he realised that it was my car he had hit and the fact that I was a cop, freaked him out to no end and he was on his knees begging for forgiveness. I made him pay for all the damage and my car was still being fixed. I walked into the station at 5'o'clock and did a double take when I walked past Ellie's office. She was asleep at her desk. Erwin walked past me shortly after that, and caught me staring at her. I couldn't help it though, she just... she radiated goodnes and it was mesmerising. Erwin went straight into her office and to a cupboard. He pulled out a blanket and my eyes widened slightly. She must do this often if she keeps a blanket in her office.

"I swear, you are acting like a stalker," Erwin remarked.

I turned to look at Erwin. He had a faint smile on his lips, though.

"It's not what you think. I thought she went home last night-" I started.

"So what were you two doing yesterday? I noticed that you followed her out of the office and then no one heard from either of you after that."

I glowered at Erwin. "Are you suggesting that I did something foul to your daughter? Because I did not. She took me to that abanded house that this station apparently owns. She made me sneak up to it as if we were going to storm it-"

"How did it go?" Erwin interrupted, again.

"I don't know. She never said anything to me about it. Anyway, after that, she made me clear the house. We made it to the main room and she made me solve Einstein's riddle-"

"She solved that when she was thirteen-"

"Will you please stop interrupting me? After that she taught me Morse code, Monoalphabetical Substitution and some other thing," I continued.

"And after that?"

"She drove me home, stopping to get some tea on the way-"

"Did she buy you anything?"

I glared at Erwin. Everytime that I had tried to talk, he had interrupted. "No, she did offer, though. Then she dropped me home. I didn't hear from her after that."

"That's boring!" a voice said.

I turned around and that crazy scientist chick, Hanji or whatever her name was, standing there, leaning against a wall of a bullpen.

"Do you like her? I bet you doooo!" Hanji sang.

I stood up straight, not that did anything for my height. "Now listen here, you little shit. I do _NOT_ liker her in that way. She is my superior and my partner. so SHUT UP!" I bellowed.

Hanji moved to stand beside Erwin. They shared a knowing glance before looking back at me.

"Sure!" they said.

I stormed past them, if I weren't a cop, they would be lying dead on the floor, blood seeping out through multiple stab wounds on their body.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

I woke up at feeling disoriented. I didn't have a desk in my room so why was I sitting, and sleeping, on one. Then I remembered last night. I stood up and stretched. I walked to the bathroom that was connected to my office after grabbing a spare uniform from the cupboard where I stored the blanket. I turned the shower on and pulled the opaque cloth across, shielding my naked body from prying eyes. I washed my hair and stepped out to grab my towel, after checking that Levi wasn't in the bathroom at the time. I got dressed and put my dirty uniform in the washing machine. I didn't particularly want to tell Levi that the only our two offices were the only ones that had a private bathroom, was because of my habit of falling asleep at my desk, or the occasional undercover mission. I stepped out feeling awake and came into my office seeing Erwin waiting for me.

"Why didn't you text last night? You know that I worry about you."

"Yes, I know. I was going to message you but I was too busy. I think I may have found a possible lead on the case," I exclaimed.

"Really, what?" Erwin asked.

"I'm not sure if it is correct but I'm going to have to visit their families and lovers. If I am right, we could help protect the other girls."

"Do what you have to do. By the way, Hanji wants to see you, something about Fleur being different from the other girls."

I nodded, already walking towards the door. I didn't see Levi anywhere. Strange, he's always here by now. Tride on the elevator took a long time, probably because I had nothing on my mind. I stepped into Hanji's lab and went very still. She had Levi on the floor, doing who knows what.

"Ah, Hanji. Erwin said that you wanted to speak with me," I said, averting my eyes to the weird seen playing out in front of me.

"Yes. I need help with Shorty here."

"Tell me what he did and I might consider it."

"Well, he got to the station this morning and when he walked past your office, he stopped and was watching you. Erwin and I caught him. We timed him and when Erwin had enough, Levi had been staring at you for seven whole minutes!" Hanji yelled.

I turn my gaze to Levi, eyes narrowing in anger. Truthfully, I was creeped out.

"Is this true?" I demanded.

Levi gulped. That was all the answer that I needed. I walked over and slammed Levi's head into the ground. He groaned in pain and Hanji bent his arm behind his back, causing him to groan louder. She grabbed his hair and yanked his head up and I punched him in the face.

"Anything else that you'd like to tell me, before I handcuff you to a table and let Hanji deal with you?" I asked.

"I did nothing else. Please get her off me!" Levi answered.

I looked at Hanji for clarification and she nodded. She stood up and Levi remained on the ground for a few more seconds, getting his bearings and catching his breath.

"Oh, Hanji. Levi and I will be investigating a possible lead. I'll need you to check something for me. Could you do it while we're gone, please?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure. What do you need me to check?"

I told Hanji my thoughts and both her's and Levi's eyes widened, though Levi's was only widened by the slightest bit.

Hanji nodded her head vigorously. "I can do that for you, Ellie. I knew that you'd think of something eventually."

"Not soon enough. If I'm right, we could have saved the lives of those girls." I turned around and walked back to the elevator, Levi close behind.

We got into my car and started at the closest house to the station. It was Fleur's girlfriend's house. I knocked on the door and received an answer almost straight away.

"Have you come to ask questions about Fleur? Please, come in," she said, making way for us.

"That won't be necessary. We only have one question, maybe two questions: did you and Fleur ever... do the deed?" I asked.

Her eyebrows shot up in shock. She shook her head, embarrassed and ashamed.

"Do you know if she's still a virgin?" Levi asked.

"Um, yeah. She never lost it."

"Thankyou."

We walked back to the car. I grabbed a piece of paper containing all of the addresses that we were visiting and crossed off all the names of Fleur's lovers. I kept her parents' address on their for clarification. We drove to the next house. We asked the same questions and we received the same answers, until we got to Mrs Madison's house. We asked her the questions and her answers surprised us.

"No, despite the pictures you saw the other day, she's still a virgin."

"Then why was she naked in the pictures?" Levi asked.

"She was modelling for a friend. Nothing progressed past that."

"Do you know this for certain?" I asked.

"Definitely. I was there when all the pictures were taken."

"Thankyou for your time," I said, turning towards the car.

"So, every girl is still a virgin-"

"Shut up for a minute, can you?" I said. I pulled out my phone and dialled Hanji.

 _"Hey, Ellie. You were right, all of the girls have lost their virginity at some point in their lives."_

"Yeah. My other theory is right as well. We are dealing with a sex ring. We just asked the families and lovers and none of them lost their virginity. They were raped after they were kidnapped."

 _"It's horrible. I'll have a list of known rapists and sex ring members for you when you get back."_

"Thanks, Hanji." I hung up.

"Sex ring?" Levi asked.

"Yeah. It's what we're dealing with. At least we know how those marks got on the girls. They were hickeys on their bodies, not bruises."

I drove back to the station and took the eevator to Hanji's lab. As promised she handed me a few pages.

"Now, all of those guys are currently in prison or on parole. They probably wouldn't have any part in this."

"Yeah, Hanji. I realise that but they might know who is involved, and I'm hoping for that at least."

Hanji nodded slowly and I walked away. I took the elevator back up. I got off and walked straight to Erwin's office.

"I was right. We are dealing with a sex ring."

"Well, can you identify any members at the moment?" Erwin asked.

"Jeez, I just got back a few minutes ago. What do you think?"

We both smiled slightly and I walked out. I found Levi in my office, staring at the the pin up board.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"What are you thinking about?" I asked.

"Looking at it now, those are definitely hickeys."

"Yeah, I was thinking about it last night and hickeys came to mind, that's why I thought that we're dealing with a sex ring or some form of sick rapist. Now, I have a job for you. These names that Hanji gave me, can you go through them and find any associates? I've got to see Hanji about something."

Levi took the papers from my hand and walked to his office. I walked back to the elevator andback down to Hanji's lab.

"Hey, Hanji. It's me again. Erwin wants to see if we can identify the perpetrator. Though, I doubt that we can do it this late in time."

"Yeah, sperm only last three days in the body and we don't know how long ago these girls were killed. Best get to work."

Hanji and I worked together, swabbing the bofy of Fleur Rains. We worked tirelessly for hours and almost fell on each other as we were about to test them for some sort of sperm, hair, or anything else that could contain DNA. All of our troubles went unrewarded as none of the results had any DNA that could identify a suspect.

"I really thought that we would get something out of this," Hanji admitted as we fell to the floor in exhaustion.

"That's why you shouldn't think positive about everything. Sometimes, it's better think negative and be right than think positive and be wrong."

"Wow, my best friend is a philosopher."

"Not really. I'm just a pessimist. It helps. If you think negatively and are wrong, you'll be presently surprised," I said.

Hanji shot me a weird look. I gave her a small smile, letting her know that I wasn't crazy. Not yet, anyway. We stayed down for a few more minutes before getting up.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"There is a clock right in front of you. Look at it and read the time," Hanji said.

I looked up and sighed. Hanji laughed.

"Made you look, dirty chook!" she cried. "It's about 7'o'clock."

"Damn you, Hanji."

"Haha, yeah. I know. Well, my shift is over, I'm going now. Bye."

Hanji walked out, leaving me alone. I shook my head and smiled. Same old Hanji. I walked to my office. I had work to do - finding the location of where the hide-out was. I looked up when I saw Erwin and Levi knocking on the door. I motioned for them to come in.

"Ellie, I'm going and I'm driving Levi home. See you there." Erwin said before he walked out again.

"I found associates but none work together anymore. Sorry." Levi said.

"That's okay. I didn't expect much from it anyway. Bye, Levi."

Levi nodded and followed my dad to the elevator. I searched up the missing girls, more importantly, their addresses and their relationship with my mum. I pulled up a map on my computer and started marking the where the girls lived and where their bodies were found. _Huh, it's in a general area. What's in the centre?_ I zoomed in on the map. Right in the exact centre, was an old factory. It wasn't used anymore but it wasn't abandoned. I searched up the owner. He had a previous criminal history, but it wasn't too bad. He was apart or a drug ring a few years back. I marked that for future reference, and the building as well. I went through the information on the girls and realised, they were killed in order of how close they were to my mum. The first one that was killed, Ainslee Vogels, wasn't close to Mum but Daisy Madison was extremely close to Mum. I searched up the other girls on the photo. _Funny, they must have messed up. They weren't really close to Mum._ I searched up Mum's bar and saw all the workers, my name among the list. I smiled. I loved working at Mum's bar when it first opened. I quit when I made it into the police academy though. Something inside of me clicked. _I'm next._ It was the only logical solution. Only girls have gone missing. The only girls that worked for Mum, besides me, were in the photograph. Following the pattern that they were going in, I was next. I snatched at a pen and wrote: 1.3 1.5 3.2 4.2 3.6 1.5. I hoped Levi would come in and see that. I put it next to a puzzle just in case, that way, it looked like working out or something. I realised that my breathing was heavy. I packed up my office. As I left the station, I hoped that I was wrong. I started walking to my car, and my suspicions were proven correct. A hand shot out of nowhere and covered my mouth. I quickly elbowed him in his stomach, the one place I could reach. As I was about to punch him, another hand grabbed my wrist and twisted it behind my back. A piece of clothe, stinking of chloroform, was put over my mouth and nose. I struggled to get free, and not breathe at the same time. It wasn't easy but I managed to get free at exactly the wrong time, as I was passing out. Apparently, not breathing doesn't work with chloroform. The last thing I thought was that there were no cameras in the car park. My vision went black after that.

 **Levi's POV**

"You didn't have to drive me home. I'm okay with walking," I said.

"That may be true but it's safer to drive. Ellie would think that as well."

I rolled my eyes. When Erwin pulled up in front of my house, I thanked him. I walked to the door and noticed that Erwin didn't drive off until I was inside. _Just like Ellie_. I made myself something to eat, nothing fancy, just deep-fried stuff. I turned my phone on after that. I searched up Ellie's mum's bar. It still had it's Facebook page. I clicked it and read about it. It must've been a nice bar. I turned my phone off. I read for a while then I went to bed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Levi's POV**

I walked to the station again. I got there at the usual time of 7'o'clock. I saw Erwin comforting a crying Hanji. I walked up to them.

"Ellie has gone missing. There's been no word from her," Erwin explained.

"How do you know?"

"She usually texts me if she knows that she's going to be staying late here. I received no such text from her. When I got here, two hours ago, she wasn't here, but her car was. There's no message in her office. Her computer was smashed, every piece of information that she had on it has been lost."

I pushed past them and walked into Ellie's office. I went straight to her desk. Like Erwin said, her computer was smashed. There was no way that anyone could fix it. I looked on the documents on her desk. The puzzle and the piece of paper next to it seemed like it was left there on purpose, I couldn't think of why. I picked them up though. It might have something to do with her disappearance.

"What do you make of this?" I asked Hanji, showing her the puzzle and the other bit.

"Ellie always liked solving puzzles. She often did them when she was bored or when she needed to look at something differently," Hanji answered.

I looked around the office. Everyone seem affected by her disappearance. Erwin and Hanji walked his his office, they were probably affected the worst, being Ellie's best friend and father. I walked to my office and looked at the puzzle again. It was completed and I was confused. I turned my attention to the other piece of paper. Light bulbs went off inside my head. They weren't related. I noticed that it was a code, the first one that I learnt, the Messenger code, or whatever it was. I quickly deciphered it. I was left staring at the word CENTRE. _Centre of what, exactly?_ I was left to think about it until 8:30. I was interrupted when somebody burst into my office.

"Levi, Erwin wants you in his office, right now," Riley Fiel said.

I got up and walked calmly to his office. I had only been there once, when I first arrived here. I saw an angered expression on his face and one of shock on Hanji's. I knocked and walked in, not waiting for an answer. I walked to where they were standing. I looked at Erwin's computer screen and saw the crude message emailed to him from Ellie, well, her captors.

 _Hahahahahahahahaha. Now you can see our line of work. ;)_

Underneath was a video. I really didn't want to see what happened in it but Erwin clicked it.

 **Ellie's POV**

I woke up on a cold cement floor with ropes binding my hands and my ankles. I looked around and saw nobody. I strained my wrists, trying to get the rope loose, but it was no use. If anything, the rope felt tighter. I sighed and tried to get comfortable, which was hard, because my wrists and ankles were also tied to the floor. I was still clothed, which was fine with me. I closed my eyes when I heard footsteps in the distance.

"Oh, look. She's awake."

I strained my neck to see my captors who were standing behind me. They all looked terrible, and I don't mean like they were sick, they looked tired and dirty.

"So, you are the sex ring that we're looking for. Funny. You pass as homeless people," I said.

"Damn right, we are. I mean, the sex ring bit, not the homeless bit. But, you see, we're more than just a sex ring. A few years ago, we were a drug ring. We committed some horrible crimes and haven't been caught yet, so we're good."

"And why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"Didn't you here? Drug ring. Committed crimes and not caught. What does that tell you, Ellie Smith?"

I frowned and relaxed my body, my neck was hurting. Did they think that I could work mira... Mum. Mum's death was never solved, her killer, _killers_ , never caught and they were apart of a drug ring.

"You bastards. You killed my mum."

"Yep. We were high at the time."

"High and looking for fun. My, Brooklynn was a beauty. She butt was the right size and shape-"

"Stop. Anyway, my brother was killed by your dad, Erwin Smith, and we're getting revenge. I'm a patient man, I have waited about seven years for this. And the best part, you look better than your mum ever did. This is going to be pleasing. But you can wait a bit longer. I waited, so can you. Bye."

All of them walked off and left me with my thoughts.

 _Step 1 of torture: make your victim know that you're in charge._

 _Step 2: make them feel useless._

 _Step 3: leave them alone with thoughts of what you're going to do with them later. Leave them scared for their lives._

Check, check and check. I was in so much trouble, and my only thought was that Levi had found my note. Screams echoed through the factory, and I closed my eyes, knowing that they belonged to Daisy. I knew what they were doing with her. I knew that they were going to do the same with me, and they were going to take my virginity as well. Damn, it all. I listened to Daisy screams and pleads for help for hours, or minutes, I couldn't tell. Soon, her screams stopped completely. A few minutes later, a male came in carrying Daisy's lifeless body, her eyes wide with fear, her face frozen in a twisted expression. The male looked at me and noticed my wide, fearful eyes, and laughed. He continued walking. Every now and then, males walked in and kicked me, threw broken beer bottles at me and jeered at me. They laughed when they mentioned my mum. I cried myself to sleep for the first time in two years.

I woke up an hour later when I felt a heavy weight on my legs. I jolted when I saw the man who seemed to do all the talking on my lap, fingering the zip on my pants.

"GET OFF!" I screamed, throwing my body sideways.

The other men behind me laughed. The male who was on me, laughed as he rested his head on my thigh, right next to my vagina. I tried kicking him off with my knee, but the ropes around my ankles didn't allow for much movement.

"My, my. We have a fiesty one, boys!"

All of the men cheered.

"Now you may be wondering, what my name is. Since you going to die in a few days, I'll let you know that. My name is Rolland Chaput. You don't need to know their names, they're unimportant. By the way, you time has come. Oh, say hello to the camera." He stepped aside, revealing a high quality camera.

I knew straight away why they were filming. They were going to send it to Erwin. He would see my virginity get taken away. I shut my eyes. I shouldn't be surprised, though. My luck was always horrible.


	9. Chapter 9

**WARNING: RAPE/SLIGHT FORCED LEMON**

 **Chapter 9**

"Are you ready? Hahahaha! Who am I kidding? I'll be doing it whether you like it or not! Turn on the camera, boys. Time to make a point!" He turned to face the camera, as soon as one of the men starting filming, the man started talking again. "Hello, Commissioner Smith! I have you daughter! What are you going to do? But, I'll tell you what I'm going to do: continuing my revenge. You see, you killed my brother a few years ago and I have been waiting to see this moment for years. You're a broken man, Erwin Smith. Please, enjoy this video and watch as your daughter loses something precious. She won't be able to touch unicorns anymore, Smith!"

He turned to face me and started walking, taking his shirt off as he came closer. I started squirming, harder than before. I wanted out. I didn't want to be part of this mess. He reached me with his pants starting to come down. I flinched violently when he touched me. He grabbed my mouth and forced his own mine, his tongue invading my mouth. I bit down, drawing blood. He gasped and tried to pull back, but I didn't release his tongue from my teeth until he grabbed my breasts. I cried out, releasing it and he continued. He started ripping my uniform, trying to get it off me. I couldn't kick him. I couldn't do anything to get him off. I screamed when he bit down on my neck. He pulled my undergarments off, revealing my naked body to the camera. He licked my neck and I did everything I could to stop myself from moaning. He positioned himself over me and when he forced himself into me, I screamed.

 **Levi's POV**

The first thing the video showed us was an ugly face. Sadly, I knew him. He lived on my street. He seemed like an ordinary guy, but I guess not.

 _"Hello, Commissioner Smith! I have you daughter! What are you going to do? But, I'll tell you what I'm going to do: continuing my revenge. You see, you killed my brother a few years ago and I have been waiting to see this moment for years. You're a broken man, Erwin Smith. Please, enjoy this video and watch as your daughter loses something precious. She won't be able to touch unicorns anymore, Smith!"_

I hated with this man with a passion. He turned around and walked towards Ellie. He stripped and started molesting her. I could tell she hated, but I had an extremely tiny feeling of joy when she bit his tongue. It was short-lived. When he started ripping off her clothes, I was ready to kill him. I couldn't tear my eyes off the screen though, and I had a feeling that Erwin and Hanji couldn't either. Once she was fully naked and he entered, Ellie's scream echoed throughout Erwin's office. Luckily, I shut the door when I came in. I walked out after that. After all that she did for me, I couldn't figure out her message. I just made it to my office and closed the door when I felt the tears starting to form. I slid down it and cried. I couldn't handle it, especially after my mum. How she could do that to her body most nights for money absolutely appalled me. I guess she got used to it but Ellie, she must never had sex. I cried silently for a few minutes, before I heard a knock on the door. I craned my neck to look up and saw thick, bushy eyebrows. Erwin. I quickly rubbed my eyes and stood up. I opened the door for Erwin and stepped aside to let him in. His eyes were red as well, no doubt that Hanji was crying as well.

"It got worse, didn't it?" I asked.

Erwin nodded, he obviously didn't trust his voice. I walked to my desk and leaned on it as Hanji ran inside, slamming the door behind her. Her wails were loud. I guess that video shook all of us.

"Th-th-they took her v-v-vir-virginity!"

Erwin pulled her into a hug and didn't let go until Hanji had quietened down. I quickly glanced at the officers outside. They weren't looking this way but I could tell that they knew what was going on. Hanji's wails were obvious enough. One officer, was on the phone and walked straight to my office. He knocked and Erwin beckoned for him to come in.

"Sir, Daisy's body has been found. Same place as Fleur."

"Thankyou. Hanji, you have to go and get Daisy."

Hanji nodded and the officer walked back out. She walked out as well, her tears dried up. Erwin looked at me.

"I didn't expect you to walk out like that."

I shifted my gaze. I heard Erwin sigh and my eyes flicked towards him.

"It's something else, isn't it?"

I nodded. "My mother - she made money from that."

I heard a barely audible "oh" from Erwin. I didn't say anything but Erwin came and wrapped his arms around me. I stood still, not knowing what to do. I knew that he was trying to comfort me, but I really didn't appreciate the gesture. Erwin let go and walked out. I started at Ellie's message again. I couldn't think of what it meant. Feeling bored, I went down to Hanji's lab. Someone needed to keep an eye on that woman before she did something to the body. I got down there and the first thing Hanji said was spot on.

"I guess you need me to do something for you. What is it?"

"I... Ellie left a message on her desk. It was with the puzzle I picked up earlier. It deciphered as 'centre'. Do you have any idea on what that could be?" I said.

"Could be where they're keeping her. Did her message say anything else?"

"No. Just that."

"Dammit. Here, do you mind writing a few notes? Ellie used to help with that sometimes." She gestured to a notepad. I picked it up, along with the pen that was next to it and wrote what Hanji told me to write.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **Levi's POV**

Erwin drove me home again that night. I went straight to bed, though. I wasn't in the mood to eat. Not after what I saw on the video. I wasn't going to get the memory out of my head quick enough. I fell asleep after a few hours. Damn insomnia. Luckily for me, I didn't dream at all that night.

I woke up and did not feel refreshed. I took a shower and had a small breakfast. The video still fresh in my mind. I wondered how Ellie was feeling. She was probably scared and confused, not to mention sore. I got ready for another gruelling day at work. I walked, despite the fact that it was raining slightly. I spotted Erwin pulling up as I started walking across the road. He was at the elevator first and I knew that he was going to wait for me. We stayed in silence, knowing what was on each other's minds as we waited to reach our desired floor. I walked to my office and found Hanji in there waiting for me.

"This is her message?" she asked, holding up the paper.

"Yeah. Do you have any ideas?"

"Just one. She must have figured out where their base was right before the kidnapped her. We just have to figure out what it meant. Anyway, I have a map here. I've already marked all the abandoned buildings in town with black squares. We just need to find which one they're keeping her in."

"Right."

We worked together. She told me the names of the girls and I told here where their bodies were dumped. I looked at the map after we finished.

"It's just random. None of the buildings could be where they're keeping her. Give me their addresses."

I read out their addresses. Once I read out Daisy's, I looked at the map again. The spots that Hanji marked still weren't around any abandoned buildings.

"What if they're not keeping her in one of those buildings? I mean, look. The girls all lived and got dumped in a genera- wait. What's in the centre?" I asked.

"A factory. It's not abandoned, but it's not used. It's still owned and it's not up for sale, or for lease. Why?"

"I'm thinking that is where Ellie is being held."

"That would make sense. Let's say that she just figured it out. She leaves her computer on but saves her work. They could have deleted it and then deleted it from the recycle bin. We can still recover it, but, we can't recover it if the computer is destroyed. We have to tell Erwin!" Hanji got up and ran out of my office. I followed her, running to keep up with her. I got to Erwin's office a few seconds after Hanji.

"Erwin, we might have found where they're keeping Ellie!" Hanji exclaimed.

Everyone in the building heard and they all stopped working.

"Where?" was the only thing that Erwin said.

We ran back to my office, not wanting to waste any time. We showed him the map and Hanji told him everything.

"Who owns it?"

Hanji quickly searched it up. It came up with one name: Rolland Chaput.

"He's the one from the video yesterday. He lives on my street. He never seemed the type to do this though."

"You didn't think to mention this sooner?" Erwin asked, ander evident in his voice.

"I realised it when the video started. I wsa too distraught by the video to say anything!"

Erwin took a deep breath. "I'm going to find officers to help. Only the experiened ones, though."

"What about me? She's my partner!" I exclaimed.

"I never said anything about you. It's a given that you have to come, only because that you are her partner though, nothing more."

I nodded, feeling slightly relieved. I wanted to find her more than anything. I realised then, I must've fallen in love with her at some point without realising it. Stupid me.

 **Ellie's POV**

After the man turned off the video, they all had a go, one after the other. I couldn't fall asleep though. They didn;t let me pass out, either. It was a never ending torture and it went on for hours. After they had left me, I struggled to get to sleep. I struggled to welcome the blackness that took over me after an hour of trying to go to sleep. Something seemed different about it, though. It didn't feel like I was passing out, but it was stronger than what sleep felt like. The only thing on my mind when I was enveloped by the darkness was that I wanted to be free. I wanted to see my dad again. I wanted to see Hanji again. I didn't want Levi to have to find another partner because of my one mistake. I didn't want Levi to go through what I went through with Petra.

 **Levi's POV**

Hanji and I waited for an hour for all of Erwin's chosen officers to gather. All of them were at least twenty-five years old. Some, however, were in their fortys. I didn't mind though. We were going to need their experience if we were going to find Ellie. I wanted her back, I couldn't deny that.

"Right, everyone knows that my daughter, Lieutenant Colonel Ellie, has gone missing. I have been provided a location on where she might be. I have chosen you to help me find her. You all have the necessary skills to bring her back. If you see anyone other than her and yourselves, do NOT kill them. Shoot to harm. They are going to court. Am I clear?" Erwin explained.

"Yes sir!" everyone said.

We all headed out, following Erwin. It took time to get us all ready, mainly because there were only two elevators and they could only hold so many people.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **Levi's POV**

I sat in the passenger seat of Erwin's car. We mainly sat in silence but the voices of other officers came through the speaker. Erwin sometimes told them to not be so loud and I couldn't agree more. I turned my head back to the window and watched the buildings rush by. I couldn't get Ellie out of my head and it was frustrating me. I needed to know if she was alright. She had done a lot for me. I just wish that she would be here with Erwin and me now, helping us get back that woman, whatever her name was. I didn't try to hard to remember; Ellie was more important. She was my partner, my mentor... I guess. I didn't want to lose her, not just yet. I couldn't lose her.

"Levi, we'll get her back."

I didn't hear him, I was too lost in thought. Everything around me was a blur. I paid not attention to it, opting to remain lost in my thoughts.

 **Erwin's POV**

I looked over at Levi. He idn't hear what I said. I could tell that he was lost in thought, just like I was last night, and tired. I knew that he felt something other than partnership with her. I wasn't sure whether to allow it or not. Time would tell. I looked at the GPS. We were almost there. I grabbed the microphone and spoke into it.

"We're almost there. The van gets priority parking."

I heard a chorus of "yes sir" from the radio and I nodded to myself. I quickly glanced at Levi. He was still lost in thought. I leaned over slightly and poked him. I heard him grunt.

"What was that for?"

"We've arrived."

Levi looked around at his surrondings. He stopped when he saw the factory. It was a solid building. It's dark grey walls stood at perfect right angles to the ground. I noticed that the windows seemed to be closed, or they had something covering them. Either way, it was going to be dark in there. I looked at Levi again. He seemed to be checking something about the building. I found an empty parking lot and directed everyone to it. I climbed out of the car. I walked over to the van, waiting for the other officers to walk over. I gave everyofficer a floor that they had to check. Levi had the fourth floor, along with a few older officers. I directed them all to their entry points when I saw movement on a nearby roof. I realised who it was and almost smiled. Of course she came.

 **Levi's POV**

I followed the senior officers to our entry point. We received word from Erwin asking if every officer was in position. After everyone told him their status he gave us word to go in. I followed the officers around but they all broke off from one another, heading in their own directions. I stood in confusion for a bit, because they did something that didn't come up in training. I shook my head and went straight. I walked past some windows and did a double take. There was someone on the roof. The figure was in the dark so I couldn't make out their face. I hoped that they were with us, I didn't want to die an early death. I advanced and almost lost myself a few times. I kept track of my path in my head, I was going to need it to get out. I heard voices that I didn't recognise and tried to follow the noise. That was hard. It led me to a strange room, an office. Sadly Ellie was not in there. I went straight and smelled something metallic. _Blood._ I looked down and saw blood drops. I looked ahead and saw more. _A blood trail._ I followed them and the smell got stronger. It led me to a doorway. The first thing I saw was a rather large pool of blood. The second thing I saw was Ellie and she was lying in it. I ran towards her, putting my gun in it's holster.

Ellie was covered in blood and she was pale. I felt her wrist for a pulse and I didn't feel one. I tried her neck to make sure and sighed in relief. She was still alive but barely. I grabbed my walkie-talkie.

"I have found Ellie. Repeat: I have found Ellie."

As I waited for an answer, I untied the ropes that rendered Ellie unable to move.

"Officer Ackerman, can you bring Ellie out, or do you need help?" Erwin asked.

"I'll be fine, I didn't see anyone on my way up here. If I need help, I'll call."

I received no answer but I knew that Erwin was nodding my head. I looked at Ellie again. I couldn't bring her out as she was. I found her ripped clothes and put them on, I also put my jacket on her, so that she was covered and warm. I picked her up and started making my way out. My breath came quicker as I carried her. I became worried, no one had came through the speaker about catching the sex ring. They were either out or just hiding in the building really well. I hoped that they weren't here.

"Erwin, there's been no sign of them."

"Continue the search. They wouldn't leave Ellie alone. Even if you find one."

I stopped for a quick breath by the windows I walked past earlier. By doing so, I made the worst mistake of my life. The sex ring was still in the building and they had found found me. As I had stopped, one stabbed me in the thigh. I dropped to my knees, gasping in pain, as he hadn't pulled it out. I pulled Ellie close, so that they couldn't touch her.

"Did you really think that we would let her go that easily? We have a bone to pick with her-"

"Like I care about what you think about wat you're going to do to her."

"But you should. Her mother screwed us over. Two years ago, she caught us and came over to ask us. She didn't remember us. Stupid woman. We knew that she knew what we were talking about. We had to act. We killed her, it was the only way to keep her quiet. Afterwards, we found out that one of ours had raped her, even though she was dead, and then cleaned up any evidence that would have given us away. He used to be a cop, he died a while back though. Since then we decided to continue to screw with Brooklynn's family. We kidnapped all the females that worked for her. We raped them for a while and then we killed them. You know the rest."

I was furious. I wen to get up but the knife that was still in my thigh shifted and cut more flesh. I groaned but remained on the ground. Rolland pulled out a gun and pointed it at me. Not at Ellie, at me.

"Tell me, Levi. Are you ready to die?"

He started pulling the trigger and I looked away. I heard the gunshot and waited. When I felt nothing, I opened my eyes. I checked Ellie for a bullet wound. I tore my eyes when I heard Rolland fall. I saw a bullet wound in his thigh. I pulled the knife out of my thigh and stood up. More of the sex ring showed themselves. One by one, they all fell down.


	12. Chapter 12

**Levi's POV**

I protected Ellie the best I could. I didn't know if the sniper was on our side or not. After a few minutes of crouching waiting for another gunshot, I stood up with Ellie in my arms. I looked out the window and saw Hanji holding a sniper rifle above her head. I sighed audibly and reached for my walkie-talkie.

"Suspects are down. My location is the third floor, east wing. Ellie is unharmed."

I heard a few grunts and in a few minutes, the other officers that were patrolling the third floor came and secured the men that lay on the ground. Not a single man resisted arrest. As the men were pushed in the way of the staircase, I trailed behind, mostly so that no one could touch Ellie. Where did Hanji learn to use a sniper rifle? I would have to ask her about that. As we reached the steps, I hefted Ellie to a more comfortable position. I stepped awkwardly down the steps and made sure I didn't accidently hit Ellie's head or feet on anything. I had to stop after each set of stairs so I could catch my breath and put Ellie in a better position. By the time I had gotten to the ground floor, my arms were burning. I adjusted her in my arms again and set off for the double doors that marked the entry. The other officers dragged them open and pushed the sex ring members out. One stayed to keep the door open for me seeming I was carrying Ellie's dead weight. I had to close my eyes when I walked through the front door as the light from the sun was too bright. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw Erwin running towards me, followed by two paramedics.

Erwin, though his expression looked relieved, his body language as he ran towards me seemed to be full of express concern for his daughter. Upon reaching me, he took her, holding her body close, joyous to be reunited with his daughter. He rushed her over to the ambulance and I followed at a slower pace, mainly because my leg was still gushing blood from the entry point on my thigh. I waited with Erwin as the paramedics tended to her. They gestured to Erwin to climb in before they spotted my injury, not that I was trying to hide it. They put a bandage on it, mainly to stop me from bleeding out before ushering me to a seat next to Erwin.

The drive to the hospital was quiet - save for the engine and the low conversation of the paramedics about Ellie's condition. Everytime I looked over at Erwin, he was staring intensely at Ellie, as if he could wake her up and make her feel better just by sheer willpower.

As we arrived at the hospital, another pair of paramedics were waiting for us. Ellie was wheeled into the hospital by three and the fourth led me to a private wound where a smiling nurse cleaned it out and stitched it shut. She tried to make conversation but quickly stopped once she realised that I had more pressing concerns on my mind, like Ellie. Once she was finished, she told me to come back in two weeks to get the stitches removed. I nodded concentrating slightly more. I left the room and found Erwin sitting outside.

"Where's Ellie?" I asked.

"Somewhere else. The doctors aren't making sense, as usual, but she's in surgery. It looks like there was more damage internally than externally," Erwin replied.

He got up from his seat and slowly walked away to where Ellie was being operated on. He never moved fast enough that I could lose him but he did remain a few steps ahead. It was clear that he wanted time alone. He stopped abruptly outside a set of double doors and moved aside, sitting on one of the plastic chairs that lined the small waiting room. I sat down near him, not next to him as I wasn't sure if it was the safest move with the look on Erwin's face at this point in time.

I don't know how long we waited for, but I know that it couldn't have been more than twelve hours. Over the waiting period, Erwin left and came back with a cup of coffee in each hand and handed one to me. I drank it in silence and disposed of the cup. After a while I drifted off, only to wake at the sound of the double doors clicking open. I was tired and my eyesight was blurry. I rubbed my eyes, successful in making them clear up and listen to what the doctor had to say when he recognised Erwin.

"We found some internal bleeding through the x-rays before and the major point of the surgery was to correct that but once we were half-way through we found a small break in the spine at L2, L3 and L4-"

"What are they?" Erwin interrupted.

"There are three parts of the spine: the cervical which is the spine at the neck, the thoracic which is the spine of the upper back, and the lumbar which is the spine of the lower back. The lumbar is also the most prone to injury. The 'L' represents the lumbar and the numbers refers to the vertebrae section of the spine. We also found a major concussion which may result in a memory loss around the time of the injury and possible headaches."

"Are we able to see her?" I asked.

"You can. She's this way." The doctor turned around and lead us to her hospital room for the time being.

When we reached her room, she was hooked up to more than two machines. She looked better, but not by much. After a few seconds, I realised that she had a bandage around her head.

"I thought the problems were in her torso, not her head?" I said.

"She had an infected cut above one of her ears."

"When will she wake up?" Erwin asked.

"We don't know. She's in a coma."


End file.
